1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices and methods for making a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
A semiconductor device has been proposed that includes a plurality of direction sensor elements utilizing geomagnetism and detects an orientation with respect to three axes in three-dimensional space. JP-A-2009-300093 discloses a semiconductor device including a substrate, and three direction sensor elements and an integrated circuit element that are mounted on the substrate. The three direction sensor elements each have a magnetic material wire that forms a corresponding detection reference axis. The three direction sensor elements are mounted on the substrate with the respective magnetic material wires being oriented in different directions, e.g., directions perpendicular to each other. Also, the integrated circuit element outputs the orientation of the semiconductor device with respect to the three axes as an electrical signal based on the outputs of the three direction sensor elements.
However, in general, the detection reference axis of one of the three direction sensor elements coincides with the thickness direction of the substrate. The direction sensor element having such a detection reference axis is mounted on the substrate in an upright position. Such a direction sensor element is more difficult to electrically connect to the substrate than is a direction sensor element that is parallel to the substrate. Therefore, there is a demand for more reliable and more stable electrical connection.
There is also a strong demand for the size reduction of such a semiconductor device. To meet this demand, it is also necessary to reduce the size of the direction sensor element and, in addition, the size of an arrangement forming the detection reference axis. The arrangement forming the detection reference axis includes, for example, a magnetic material wire and a coil wound around the wire. The magnetic material wire and coil need to detect a change in the orientation with respect to geomagnetism as a small electrical change, and therefore, are precisely finished. Therefore, the above arrangement desirably has a reduced size and a sufficiently high direction detection precision with respect to geomagnetism.